Maestri's Trojans Remain Winless In Sun Belt

By Courtesy: Joe St. Pierre, Troy Athletics&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Thu 10:03 PM, Jan 03, 2013

DENTON, Texas – A poor start proved to be too much for the Trojans to overcome, as Troy (5-10, 0-4) fell at North Texas (6-9, 1-3), 76-59, in Denton, Texas. Westley Hinton had a career night, mostly in the first half, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

“The pace of the game was in our favor, but we just couldn't make our shots,” said head coach Don Maestri. “We cut it to 10 and had a chance to cut it under. We tried a lot of different things, but we couldn't get any consistency tonight.”

The Trojans got out to a rough start, missing their first seven shots from the field and first two free throws, allowing the Mean Green to take a 13-0 lead in the opening minutes. Troy would respond and cut the lead to as little as three points, but North Texas closed the half on a 9-2 run to take a 39-29 lead into the break.

North Texas kept the pace down the stretch, holding a double-figure lead for the entire second half. Tony Mitchell proved to be too much for the Trojans, scoring 29 points and grabbing 15 boards.

“He (Mitchell) was very good tonight,” Maestri said. “He's tough to matchup against. We tried everything. Sooner or later he was going to have a great night, too bad he had one against us.”

Ray Chambers was the only Trojan starter to score in double-figures, finishing the game with 11 points and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. Hunter Williams contributed 10 points off the bench, while Emil Jones finished with five points, eight boards and four assists.

The Trojans shot 34.3 percent from the field (22-of-64) and 21.7 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-23). North Texas shot 28-of-58 from the floord (48.3%) and 3-of-11 from range (27.3%). Troy kept the rebounding margin close, losing the battle of the glass 40-38. The Trojans also tied a season-high with 14 turnovers.

Troy returns home for a rematch against UALR on Saturday night at Trojan Arena. Tickets are still available and tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

For more information on Troy Athletics, be sure to visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.

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